The footage we’ve seen from Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters has revealed the origins of hearse-turned-Ecto-1 that the team uses to get around – establishing it as belonging to the uncle of Leslie Jones’ character, Patty – but it turns out that this isn’t the only key piece of equipment that she brings to the group. This list also includes the famous jumpsuits that the heroes wear, as it’s revealed in the film that they take the outfits from Patty’s job at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
When I was part of a small group of journalists visiting the set of Ghostbusters last fall, one of the people we had the opportunity to speak to was Jeffrey Kurland, the movie’s Oscar-nominated costume designer. While discussing the designs of the new outfits, and how they specifically differentiate from the costumes worn by the team in the Ivan Reitman movies, Kurland revealed exactly where the outfits come from in the new movie:
The jumpsuits come from Patty’s character, Leslie Jones, who works in the MTA. She’s a ticket-taker in the subway, so that’s where that stuff comes from. Those jumpsuits come from the MTA, where we get them and then we trick ‘em out, and Patty tricks them out and they become what you eventually see.
As for the relationship between the costumes worn by the original Ghostbusters versus the ones in the new movie, Kurland revealed that the idea was that they were "inspired" by the look, but didn’t feel married to it. In fact, it was a specific goal between the costume designer and Paul Feig to make them look visually different. Said Kurland,
They’re inspired in the fact that it’s an iconic piece, so you have to be inspired by it. I mean, it is what it is, but I never wanted it to be the same, nor did Paul. So it had to be a total, it had to be a difference. It had to be a big difference.
Looking at the image below versus the one up top, you’ll notice these specific differences (particularly in the plethora of orange stripes).
How do the new Ghostbusters wind up taking residence in what appears to be a Chinese restaurant? We don’t know the answer to that question just yet, but it’s one of many we look forward to learning when the film arrives in theaters on July 15th. In the meantime, stay tuned for more of our set visit coverage!
